Baked Quinoa with Spiced Apples, Carrots and Red Onions

It’s been almost two months since I posted a recipe with quinoa. I know, C-R-A-Z-Y. How have I got away with it for so long? I honestly don’t know, I just did.
In my defence, quinoa is always on my mind. There hardly goes a week when I don’t have at least a meal involving quinoa.
Lately I’ve been cooking a lot this Spicy Mexican Quinoa Casserole, which has become one of the most popular recipes on this blog. It makes everybody happy and it reconciled some of my friends with quinoa. The few who thought that quinoa was yuk, have now joined the quinoa team. Massive.


Cooking the Mexican casserole does take a wee bit of time so I wanted to come up with something easier. Or better yet, something where there’s almost no cooking involved and that you can whip up in a cinch. That’s basically the story behind this baked quinoa. Very simple plot. I don’t think I could carve a novel out of it, but I’m no writer (nor I plan to be one in the future), so I don’t have to worry about it.

This dish comes together in 30 minutes. All you need is 2 baking dishes, a chopping board, few veggies, some spices and herbs. Are you able to chop some veggies? Than you can make this dish.
To quote somebody more famous than me “Anyone who has use of their limbs can make this” baked quinoa.
But let’s talk about nutrition. This dish is vegan and nutritionally complete (thanks to quinoa, of course). Chock full with veggies and amazing spices. Calories considerate and gluten-free. Last but not least it’s delicious. Let’s get your taste buds buzzin’, shall we?

Baked Quinoa with Spiced Apples, Carrots and Red Onions                             Print this recipe!
Adapted from Tasting Table Test Kitchen

Ingredients
Serves 4

1 cup / 6 oz / 170 gr quinoa, picked and rinsed
2 cups / 500 ml hot water
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3 medium carrots, peeled, halved and chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 medium apple, cored and chopped into 1-inch cubes
1 medium red onion, very thinly sliced
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh parsley (or cilantro), finely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F (200°C), place a rack in the middle.
In a small bowl combine cardamom, coriander, black pepper, chili powder and ¾ teaspoon salt. In a 9x13-inch baking dish add carrots, apples, red onions and olive oil. Add spice mixture and stir to combine.
In a 8-inch baking dish add the rinsed quinoa and spread onto an even layer.
Place quinoa and veggies in the oven.
Let the quinoa roast in the oven for about 7 to 8 minutes. Take it out, pour the hot water over it and loosely cover with aluminium foil (be careful not to burn yourself while doing this, I learned the hard way!)
Cook the quinoa in the oven until it uncoils and looks fluffy, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove the quinoa from the oven, fluff with a fork, re-cover with foil and set aside.
In the meantime, continue to roast the veggies, stirring occasionally (be careful not to burn yourself). The veggies are ready when the onion starts to caramelize, about 30 minutes (it’s should be about the same amount of time it takes the quinoa to roast, cook and rest).
When veggies are ready, uncover quinoa, stir in the remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt, lemon zest, lemon juice and parsley.
Serve topped with roasted vegetables.

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 260 calories, 8 grams of fat, 42 grams of carbs and 3.5 grams of protein.